Victory is a strange and sometimes elusive state for most of humanity.

It’s really a matter of perspective.

Recently, while reading through Exodus, I gained some fresh perspective on my word for the year.

Let’s look at the strangest of places for our first piece of understanding. Consider Pharoah and his heart.

Pharoah did not have a true understanding of Who God is. He thought his battle was with Moses and the Hebrews. His heart was easily hardened because he didn’t understand the nature of his opposition. He didn’t understand the nature of his opposition, and his heart was easily hardened.

Pharaoh could have had spiritual victory. If he had made the slightest effort to empathize with the Hebrews and understand the Almighty, God would have relented. Yes, the hardness of his heart was overseen by our Sovereign. But it didn’t have to be that way.

What could victory have looked like for Pharaoh? He would have had to accept that he was not God and that letting the Hebrews go would not be defeat. In short, he could have humbled himself, and then the Almighty would have exalted him. Instead, his stiff neck would not allow him to look past himself. Therefore, God humbled Pharaoh and all of Egypt.

Anyone who will cooperate with God’s plan in general and His will for their life can have victory.

Now, what about Moses, Aaron, and the children of Israel? What did victory look like for them?

Just because Pharoah was maintaining a hard heart did not mean that God’s people were defeated. The victory was still in their possession. All they had to do was keep their peace and continue to follow the Word of God and the will of God as it came through Moses and Aaron. Their subsequent exodus from Egypt did not require any more than that humble obedience.

The children of Israel did not need to show out in some revolutionary manner. All they needed to do was prepare for the journey ahead. God’s presence was already moving their world. He had shown up, and He was showing out!

Child of God, you can trust God for the victory. Even when life looks bleak and it appears that the adversary has the upper hand. God hears your cries unto Him. Hold your peace and prepare for the journey ahead.

This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith (1 John 5:4)!

Cooperate with God’s plan for your life as it is revealed through His Word. Humbly hold your peace as He works.

Don’t walk like an Egyptian! Walk like someone who has already won. Victory is already yours.